Results upheld
August 21, 2014
The Constitutional Court in Jakarta on Thursday unanimously decided that the result from the July 9 poll was valid, in a ruling that cannot be appealed.
"The court rejects ... all applications from the applicant (Prabowo) by all nine judges," said Chief Justice Hamdan Zoelva, Reuters reported.
Earlier in the day, police dispersed thousands of Prabowo supporters, who had gathered near the court house and tried to break through security barriers before the verdict was delivered. Security forces used teargas and water cannon to dispel them.
The appeal had been placed by Prabowo Subianto, who alleged that "structural, systematic and massive fraud" by the Election Commission had ruined his chances of becoming the leader of the world's third-largest democracy and Asia's largest economy.
Subianto, who was a general under military dictator Suharto, lost the election to former Jakarta governor Joko Widodo.
Widodo will take office on October 20.
sb/glb (Reuters, AP, AFP)